Bombala railway line

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Cooma Line
Legend
Main South line at Joppa Junction
Komungla
Inveralochy
Lake Bathurst
Tarago
Bungendore
junction of Captains Flat line
Brooks Bank Tunnel
Burbong
Pine Range Tunnels x2
Queanbeyan
Canberra
Letchworth
Tuggeranong
Royalla
Williamsdale
Michelago
Colinton Tunnel
Bredbo
Numeralla River
Chakola
Bunyan
Cooma
Rock Flat
Coonerang
Bobingah
Nimmitabel
Maclaughlin
Holts Flat
Jincumbilly
Bukalong
Bombala

The Cooma railway line (later known as the Bombala line) is a partially closed branch railway line in the south of New South Wales, Australia. It branches off the Main South line at Joppa Junction, south of Goulburn, and was opened in stages to Tarago (January 1884), Bungendore (March 1885), Queanbeyan (September 1887), Michelago (December 1887), Cooma (May 1889), Nimmitabel (April 1912) and Bombala (November 1921).[1]

Closure of the Southern end of the line

On 26 March 1986 the line south of Cooma was closed.[2]

Passenger services south of Queanbeyan ceased in September 1988.[3] Following a bridge carrying the line over the Numeralla River at Chakola being declared unsafe, freight services south of Queanbeyan ceased in May 1989.[4] However a steam special did operate through to Cooma a few weeks later, albeit without passengers over the bridge in question.[5]

The line between Joppa Junction Goulburn and Queanbeyan remains open, and sees regular NSW TrainLink passenger trains between Sydney and Canberra.[6] The only regular freight traffic on the line are refuse trains for the Woodlawn Bioreactor at Tarago.[7] Fuel trains ran to Canberra until January 2009.[8]

The 49 km between Queanbeyan and Michelago was also re-opened in April 1993 for heritage tourist operation by the ACT Division of the Australian Railway Historical Society.[9] The line available for traffic shortened as it deteriorated, until being finally closed at the beginning of 2007 as a result of storm damage. The Australian Historical Society has subsequently concentrated its activities on the Canberra to Bungendore section of the line.[10] In October 1999 Freight Australia commenced operating log trains a couple of kilometres south of Queanbeyan to Hume.[11]

At the Cooma end of the line, there is another heritage railway, the Cooma Monaro Railway, that was formed in 1992, when a group of local Cooma people decided to restore Cooma Railway Station.[12] After the group had restored the station, efforts were then made by the group to acquire some rolling stock and re-open a section of track. This came to fruition starting in 1998, with over 17 kilometres of railway track now reopened and restored CPH railmotors operating between Cooma and Chakola.[13]

The future

The section of track between Michelago and Chakola remains an obstacle for the reopening of the full line between Queanbeyan and the township of Cooma. Realignment of the Monaro Highway has in a few cases encroached on the rail line reservation[14] and there is also the rail bridge over the Numeralla River which needs significant upgrading.

Hope has been raised a number of times for the full reopening of the section of rail between Queanbeyan and Cooma. In recent times, mining operations have commenced near Cooma.

There have also been calls for the line to be used for local services from Canberra through Queanbeyan to Bungendore.[15]

The future of the far section of line from Cooma to Bombala seems less certain. Originally designed for the area's farmers to move their cattle, sheep and produce, this section seems to have fallen victim to the modern age. Early last century, the builders of the Cooma to Bombala line hoped that some continuity would eventually follow, with future rail construction and services from Bombala continuing down south across the Victorian border. This joining up with the Victorian Railways network never eventuated, despite Victoria having a rail line 100 km away at Orbost until 1987.

Books

  • Railways to Cooma (Ian G Robertson) Cooma Railway Centenary Committee NSW (May 1989)
  • Country Branch Lines NSW Part 3 (Richard Barrack) TH Publications (2010)

Further Research

External links

Further Photos

Gallery

  • Bungendore railway station, used in the filming of The Year My Voice Broke and the Mick Jagger version of Ned Kelly

  • Tarago railway station

  • Intermodal transfer station for landfill from Sydney south of Tarago

  • Nimmitabel railway station closed in 1986 looking south towards Bombala from the goods shed. Buildings are intact but not maintained and crumbling

  • Bombala station, the last train left here in 1986. The station has been restored and is used for community activities

  • Bombala station looking north towards Cooma from the station. The footbridge is a bit decrepit but still safe to walk on

  • Cooma Monaro Railway's CPH6 at Chakola station

References

  1. ↑ Stokes, HJW (1984). Railways of the Canberra and Monaro Districts. Canberra: Australian Railway Historical Society, ACT Division. pp. 4,5. 
  2. ↑ "Last Train to Bombala" Railway Digest June 1986 page 184
  3. ↑ "Cooma" Railway Digest February 1989 page 55
  4. ↑ "Last Cooma Freight" Railway Digest July 1989 page 237
  5. ↑ "High Drama or Farce and Tragedy" Railway Digest August 1989 page 261
  6. ↑ CountryLink Southern timetable CountryLink 11 October 2009
  7. ↑ Waste on the double Goulburn Post 16 February 2012
  8. ↑ Fuel by rail - A Victim of Progress Trackside 22 February 2010
  9. ↑ Railway Digest June 1993 pages 213,248,260
  10. ↑ "Michelago Tourist Railway". Michelago Tourist Railway. Retrieved 2010-10-09. 
  11. ↑ "Freight Victoria's NSW Log Traffic" Railway Digest December 1999 page 15
  12. ↑ History Cooma Monaro Railway
  13. ↑ Operations Canberra Monaro Railway
  14. ↑ "Sleepers" Railway Digest February 1992 page 52
  15. ↑ "Reopening of train line makes sense: Queanbeyan Mayor". News Online (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 3 October 2006. Retrieved 2007-11-07. 
 
Main lines
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